‘Believe’ Trailer: J.J. Abrams & Alfonso Cuarón’s New Sci-fi TV Pilot

Of the shows currently lined up to fill NBC’s fall schedule, brand new sci-fi series Believestands out as one of the more attention-grabbing, mainly because of J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) serving as executive producer and Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) as writer and director of the pilot episode.

Believe stars newcomer Johnny Sequoyah as Bo, a young girl with incredible psychic abilities who is ruthlessly pursued by shadowy, malevolent organizations trying to use her for their own purposes. Jake McLaughlin (who, coincidentally, also played a character called Bo in the short-lived Starz series Crash) plays an escaped convict who is tasked with “kidnapping” the super-powered girl in order to keep her safe.

The trailer (courtesy of Digital Spy) lays the cheesiness on a little thick with the gospel choir background music, and there’s always an element of risk attached to having a child as one of the lead roles in a TV show. Tate’s sentiment of “I don’t like kids” is one that is easy to relate to, since there’s a frequent danger of kid characters coming across as annoying, bratty, frustrating, or just a downright drag when portrayed in fiction (we’re looking at you, Carl Grimes). Good child actors are also a pretty rare breed.

Since Bo is at the very center of the story, however, Believe might be one of those shows where having a precocious child character onscreen most of time may actually work out. The real measure of this show will be how much chemistry Sequoyah and McLaughlin have, and that’s something that’s difficult to make out from this brief trailer.

Is this promo enough to get you watching Believe when it premieres on NBC, or are you going to need a little more convincing before tuning in? Share your thoughts on the first look at this child superhero drama in the comments.